{"title":"Religious Change in Modern Japanese Society: Established Religions and Spirituality","authors":"H. Yamanaka","doi":"10.18874/jjrs.48.2.2021.365-382","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the state of religion in contemporary Japan from the perspective of consumerism and marketization, focusing on the influence spirituality movements have had on the established religious traditions of Buddhism and Shinto as well as traditional practices such as visiting family graves. By introducing statistical data, the article analyzes the popular notion of shifts “away from temples” and “away from shrines” in Japanese society. As a case study, the article discusses Ehara Hiroyuki and his use of media such as television and magazines, which situates his notion of spirituality within a religious marketplace dominated by the fluidity of individual choice. These trends are not alternatives to the religious practices and worldviews of traditional religions, but rather are in continuity with dominant social values such as reverence of ancestors.","PeriodicalId":44102,"journal":{"name":"JAPANESE JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3000,"publicationDate":"2022-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"JAPANESE JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.18874/jjrs.48.2.2021.365-382","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"RELIGION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This article examines the state of religion in contemporary Japan from the perspective of consumerism and marketization, focusing on the influence spirituality movements have had on the established religious traditions of Buddhism and Shinto as well as traditional practices such as visiting family graves. By introducing statistical data, the article analyzes the popular notion of shifts “away from temples” and “away from shrines” in Japanese society. As a case study, the article discusses Ehara Hiroyuki and his use of media such as television and magazines, which situates his notion of spirituality within a religious marketplace dominated by the fluidity of individual choice. These trends are not alternatives to the religious practices and worldviews of traditional religions, but rather are in continuity with dominant social values such as reverence of ancestors.
期刊介绍:
The Japanese Journal of Religious Studies is a peer-reviewed journal registered as an Open Access Journal with all content freely downloadable. The journal began in 1960 as Contemporary Religions in Japan, which was changed to the JJRS in 1974. It has been published by the Nanzan Institute since 1981. The JJRS aims for a multidisciplinary approach to the study of religion in Japan, and submissions are welcomed from scholars in all fields of the humanities and social sciences. To submit a manuscript or inquiry about publishing in our journal, please contact us at the address below.